Staff at Christie’s in New York observe the painting, where it went on sale WednesdayPETER NICHOLLS

Leonardo da Vinci had a big brain — we all know that. But back in around 1506, as he was dabbing away at a spooky little picture of Jesus Christ as Salvator Mundi, the saviour of the world, not even he could have foreseen that 500 years into the future the pint-sized Christ would smash the world record for a work of art at auction and that some rich schmuck on the phone would end up paying £341m ($450m including commission) for it.

Prior to Wednesday’s sale at Christie’s in New York, the record for a painting at auction was £115m, paid for Picasso’s Women of Algiers in 2015. But the Picasso was modern art and modern art has recently been in a different league…

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